Rise Again
by Ordinary Pen Names
Summary: When Pitch is back an stronger than ever, the man in the moon has no choice, but to pick another guardian. However, this spirit is one that no one has ever heard of, but one of the most powerful. Even with this added help, will the guardians stand a chance against Pitch and his new ally, or will the world fall to darkness. Contains OCs. I do not own ROTG. All reviews welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Jack laughed carelessly as he the wind carried him in between buildings and cars. He was somewhere above Vancouver, Canada, and was quickly making his way Burgess. He wanted, no needed, to see his birth place, his forever frozen lake, and spread winter and joy to his first believers. After all, what kind of guardian of fun would he be if he didn't? So weaving his way through another neighborhood, and spreading snow as he did, Jack slowly, but surely, made his way to Burgess.

Jack continued this way until he reached the Canadian city of Winnipeg. There something caused him to stop abruptly. Jack was laughing as he froze a sidewalk over causing a stray dog to ice-skate wildly down the street, when he saw something that alarmed him.

Jack tuned his attention away from the poor animal to a house nearby. Inside the small cottage there was a little girl no older than eight sleeping, but that was not what caused him to stop. No, what startled him was the girl's dream. There was not a golden unicorn dancing above her head. There wasn't even a dolphin, woven from the sand made by the guardian of dreams, bobbing up and down in lazy circles around her head. Above the little Canadian girl's head was something causing her to toss in disgust and horror. Above her head was nightmare formed by black sand.

Jack gasped in horror and asked the winds to carry him to another house just up the street. In his head he wondered if this was just a mere coincidence, or the start to another uprising. Complying with the urgency in the winter spirit's voice, the winds carried Jack at speeds unimaginable to any human who didn't believe in Jack Frost and his old companion. The all out sprint lasted only a few seconds until he reached his destination.

He peered into an eleven year old boy's room, and patterns of frost started creep up the sides of the transparent glass he was looking through. Within a minute the window was covered in an intricate frost pattern, but not before Jack saw what he need to. Above this child's head Jack saw something that confirmed his suspicions. Above the child's head, there was a black horse steadily galloping in quick circles.

Less than an hour later, Jack had checked every nearly house on the street, with the only account of his trespassing being frosted window panes. After every house, Jack became more and more anxious. All houses on that street had at least one child left tossing and turning in their sleep on account of a nightmare galloping around their heads.

Jack was shivering. Not because of the freezing temperatures. He had grown accustomed to that. Nor was he shivering do to his bare feet. He preferred is feet to be free. No, Jack was shivering because of the children he saw in a small part of Manitoba. He was shivering due to the dozens of nightmares he saw encircling multiple vulnerable children's head.

The newest guardian had to tell the others immediately about the evil he saw arriving. He was about to ask the winds to take him to the North Pole at full speed, but his ears picked up an almost inaudible sound. A low chuckle reached his ears. At first he thought nothing of it, but then a sense of deja-vous washed over him like a tidal wave. He heard that dark laugh before.

When he turned around, Jack found the owner of that maniacal laugh was standing a few feet away, facing a window that Jack's frost patterns had not yet reached. The laugh belonged to a man with grey skin and hair and robes he wore were so black, some might say it was pitch black. His face was twisted into a wicked smile as he saw a 6 year old girl weep silently after a terrible nightmare. His eyes gleamed a faint yellow color as he witnessed the fear he caused the young girl.

Jack stood still from shock when he realized who was standing in front of him. It was his former enemy, but he was gone. It's only been three years, and the guardians promised he would be gone for at least thirty more. That can't be him, can it? Well, obviously it can because Jack only known enemy was standing right there in front of him. Right there in the flesh.

His enemy hadn't noticed him yet. Jack pondered if he should confront the older man, but almost thought better of it. He didn't know of the man's current strength, and the others didn't know of his current position. So, instead of perusing the evil man, Jack silently asked the winds to take him away from this neighborhood as quietly as possible. As soon as the man disappeared in the distance, Jack urgently asked the wind to take him in the opposite direction of his current destination. His new destination was the northern-most part of this Earth, the North Pole.

Going faster than a speeding bullet, Jack reached his destination in less than fifteen minutes. When he reached the North Pole, he saw the work shop of the famed North, or more commonly known as Santa Clause. Finishing the last leg of his little race to the North Pole, Jack silently begged the winds to push him just a little faster. The winds complied with Jack wish, and hurled him at the workshop, at speeds that would leave race car drivers jealous. He sped away, neither noticing nor caring about the immense blizzard he was leaving in his wake.

Jack was moving so fast he did not notice that the window he usually he flew through, was closed. By the time that he did notice, it was too late. Jack was too close, and coming in too fast to stop. Realizing this, the winter sprit did not even attempt to turn or stop. Instead, Jack just braced himself for the inevitable crash.

'_Ten seconds till impact,' _Jack thought, '_9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 3… 2…_'

Before he reached one Jack crashed into the window. No, scratch that, Jack crashed _through_ the window. Shards of glass scattered on the flour, causing the unsuspecting yetis and elves to cry out in surprise. Jack rolled on the floor with a small yelp of pain, but he quickly got up and assessed the damage. He had a few scrapes from the broken glass, a bloody nose, and a big lump forming on his left temple, but all and all he was fine.

A startled yeti came up to Jack, and started talking to him in his garbled tongue. Before the yeti reached Jack, however, the winter spirit picked up his staff, and shot down the hallway towards North's personal workshop. Jack pushed the large door open with all his might, and caused it to fly open, and crush a new prototype that the Old Russian was working on in the process.

"Oi! I thought I told you to… Jack! What? What hap-" the guardian of wonder started to say, in a thick Russian accent, but he was soon interrupted by jack.

"North! You need to call the other guardian now!" Jack managed out between gasped. He was exhausted from flying, so far, so fast. Even with the winds doing most of the work, harnessing winds took a lot of physical and mental effort.

"What? Why?" North asked. He was still itching to know how Jack got hurt, but the tone of Jacks voice made Santa realize, that there were more pressing issues. He was preparing for the worst, but what Jack said next made North's blood run cold.

"Pitch is back" Jack said before nearly collapsing from pure exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

North wonder-filled eyes widened from shock. What did he mean '_Pitch is back?'_ They just defeated him less than five years ago, and he should have stayed gone for decades more. He raised his finger as if to ask a question, but no words formed in his mouth. The Russians mouth opened and closed a few times, and Jack thought he resembled a fish out of water. The guardian of wonder's almost made him laugh, but the situation was dire.

Soon sensing North's confusion, Jack quietly spoke up. "It's a long story. Just please get the others," Jack practically begged. North nodded and headed towards the globe room to send out the northern lights. Jack followed close behind leaning heavily on his staff for support. He was still weak from his great trek to the North Pole. He slowly limped out the door, pausing just before the door to grab a tissue. With the tissue he wiped his bloody nose, making his face look considerably better.

Jack slowly staggered towards the globe room, where North was standing and assessing the damage done to the broken window. When Jack finally made his way into the globe room, North had already called the others, and they were on their way.

The spirit of winter sighed and sat down, he wasn't sure how much longer he could stay standing. He need time to regenerate and recover and he would be fine. He knew it. This happened once or twice before, and he recovered within the hour. The Russian guardian joined him at the table, after he looked over the damage of the window, and got couple yetis to start fixing it. The elves put a small plate of Christmas-themed cookies on the large table, and Jack Frost started half-heartedly nibbling on it. After a long awkward silence, the guardian of wonder attempted at some small talk.

"So Jack, do you any idea on how and why Pitch would be back so soon?" North asked in a thick Russian accent.

"No not really. Does your belly have any ideas?" Jack questioned the older man, known as Santa Clause.

"Dah! And it is worse than less time," North admitted. After a long pause, North started to ask about Jack well-being, but he was soon interrupted by Tooth and her mini Fairies fluttering into the room.

"Ok, a boy Dallas, Texas lost his two front teeth from an accident with a baseball bat..." Tooth chattered away to her little fairy helpers, doing her job from the North Pole while flying backwards. The guardian of memories was so absorbed in her job that for a couple minutes, she did not realize that she was in the globe room. Tooth kept on working and flying backwards until she crashed into Jack, who was too busy 'talking' to Sandy to notice her before she crashed into him.

"Oh sorry Jack," Tooth apologized. It took a second, but as soon as the fairy noticed Jacks scrapes, her motherly instincts kicked in. "Are you- Are you alright? What happened?" Tooth asked as she smothered Jack with attention.

"Tooth- I'm-I'm fine! Stop! I'm fine! Ma teaf arrgh fane tuh!" Jack said, trying to get out of the fairy's grip, but was too exhausted to do much. In the end, the older guardian won and started checking his teeth for any damage or cavities.

Sandy was chuckling at Jack's struggle against Tooth. North, however, felt bad for the young spirit, though this happened almost regularly. So, he said "Tooth, fingers out of mouth," almost a little too casually.

Tooth complied and took her fingers away from Jacks pristine white smile. "Don't worry, your teeth are fine, and you smile is brighter and whiter than ever!" she squealed. Her little, mini fairies followed suit and cheered at the winter spirit's perfect smile.

Jack just forced a small, fake, and forced grin. He looked at the guardians sitting around the table, and frowned a little when he saw them laughing and joking with each other. How could he ruin their happiness, with this news? How could the guardian of fun bring new about something that could, potentially stop the spread of fun forever?

"So we're just waiting for the Kangaroo right?" Jack asked, trying to find something fun to say. He always liked making fun of the Easter Bunny, but it didn't seem so fun anymore. Not know, anyways.

"I'm a bunny, mate" Bunnymund said as he hoped out of his rabbit hole and towards the table where the other guardians sat. "Can you tell us why we're here? I have some googies that need paintin'"

"Yeah, Sandy and I are already running behind on our schedules," Tooth stated. Sandy nodded and formed an arrow over his head pointing at Tooth. This was the little man's way of saying, _What she said._

"Clam down, Clam down," North scented voice boomed. "Jack has some… news to tell us." He already knew what Jack had to say, and he was already imagining the other's reaction. Jack opened and closed his mouth several times, but he couldn't find the words to say.

"Well out with it mate" the Easter Bunny said "I 'aven't got all day"

Jack mumbled something so quietly and softly, even the Bunny's seemingly supersonic hearing couldn't pick it up.

"Come on speak-up mate,"

"I said, I saw Pitch in Winnipeg!" Jack said a little louder and harsher than he meant to. "Did you hear me this time?" jack said gaining his cool. When all the guardians heard that the temperature dropped several degrees, even though it was freezing in the room already.

After a long pause, the guardian of hope spoke up and half-heartedly said, "Oh, yah got me Jack. Very funny, mate"

"This isn't a joke! I was using the winds to get to Burgess, when I stopped in Winnipeg. When I was there I- I- I saw a nightmare above this little girls head."

"Well, just 'cause you saw a night-mare doesn't mean pitch is back, dah? There will always be nightmares after pitch." the Russian stated. He hadn't heard the whole story yet though.

"That's what I thought, so just to make sure my hunch was correct, I checked other houses for any other signs of nightmares," Jack replied

"And," tooth asked

"And, there were nightmares above the heads of all the children I saw, and I checked at least two dozen houses! So after I thought I had enough evidence, I was gonna ask the winds to take me over to North's place and tell him." Jack continued. "But, then I saw him. Pitch was right there in front of me. Literally like eight feet in front of me, with his back turned to me. I was going to say something to him, to provoke him you know, but I didn't, 'cause I didn't know what strength he had, and I flew here as fast as I could."

"Ok Jack, we believe you. I just how did you get hurt, was it Pitch?" North asked in a heavy accent as he lay a hand on Jack's shoulder. The winter spirit didn't even notice that the Russian got up from his spot at the head of the table.

"No, no, no, Nothing like that, like I said, I didn't approach him. I was just of going a little too fast trying to get here, and the window was closed and I- I kind of went through it." Jack stated nonchalantly.

"Crikey, mate why would he be back so soon?" the bunny asked. This question caused North, Tooth, and Bunnymund to get into a very intense discussion. Jack sat back and saw Sandy gesture towards something. Sandy pointed up at the skylight, and Jack immediately knew what Sandy meant.

"Guys?" Jack asked trying to the other guardian attention. "GUYS!" he yelled a little bit louder, but the guardians were too deep in discussion to notice. Jack was sure, that by this point a nuclear bomb could go off, and the three older guardians wouldn't notice a thing. He looked over at Sandy, and he just shrugged

Jack was really starting to get irritated, that by this point he forgot about his fatigue, and was ready to do anything necessary to get their attention. Jack looked over at the sandman, and mimed a movement with his staff, that made him look like he was about to stab the ground with it. Sandy figured out what he was going to do, and gave him a thumbs up, indicating that Jack should try his idea.

Jack raised his staff above his head and slammed it on to the ground below his feet. This caused frost to spread across the floor, and nipped at the guardian's noses and toes, and that led the other guardians to stop talking abruptly.

"Crikey, mate! What was that for?" Bunnymund asked as he sat down and rubbed is numb feet. Jack stood still, unaffected by the cold, and waved his staff at the sky light. North, Bunnymund, and Tooth looked up and saw the full moon, shining brightly above them almost looking as if it had something to tell them.

"Ah, Manny! How are you?" North yelled towards the sky light. Moonbeams cascaded into the globe room and started to form a figure. The figure that formed was none other than Pitch.

"Yes Manny, we know Pitch is back, Jack told us." Tooth said to the man in the moon. The moon new that already, the moon knows everything. He also knew that what he was going to do next would surprise all of the guardians. His moonbeams formed the '**&'** sign and then a picture of a clock appeared.

"What do mean Manny?" North questioned.

"I think it means that Pitch has teamed up with father time," Jack said quietly.

"What? Why? He is good guy! He was really nice when I ran into him," Tooth said, quite puzzled.

"Well, obviously he's not anymore," Jack stated bluntly. The moon was satisfied with their conclusion, and moved his moon beams onto the floor. His moonbeams shifted and stopped over the big guardian sign.

"What is he doing?" Jack asked Bunnymund.

"He's pickin' a new Guardian, mate," The large bunny answered in a whisper.

"Why a new guardian? It hasn't been very long since Jack was initiated" Tooth questioned. Manny knew this, but continued to go through with the ceremony. The guardians needed as much help as they could get. His moonbeams caused the painting to shake and shutter. None of the guardians shouted out who they wanted to be chosen. They were too busy staring at their feet, and wondering how powerful their enemies had become.

When the shaking stopped, Jack looked up and saw the guardian that the man in the moon chose. It was a black silhouette of a young teenaged girl with her arm stretched out. Above her hand there were four symbols floating that Jack came to recognize as the symbols of the element; fire, earth, water, and wind. She was leaning on a sword, and behind her a shield was leaning on her left leg. She seemed to be wearing armor of some sort, but no one could tell from the silhouette. The symbols were the only thing that Jack and the other Guardians recognized. The girl was not familiar to them.

Who was she?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Who was she?_

Who is the spirit that Manny chose as a guardian?

Who is that spirit? None of the guardians knew, and they were too deep in thought to ask Manny who she is. The four original guardians started to feel ashamed. First they ignored Jack for about three-hundred years, and now they find another they never heard of. Who knows how long this Spirit was alone, abandoned?

Finally, someone found the courage to speak up. It was Jack, who found the courage to speak up. It was Jack, the only one out of the group to know what it was like to be ignored, who spoke up. "Manny? Who- who is that?" Jack asked in a timid voice.

The man in the moon knew they were confused, after all, the moon knows everything. He also knew who the spirit is. So, in order for the guardians to get some insight on who the next addition was going to be, a few silver words woven from moonbeams shone below the silhouette. They read: _she goes by the name Allison, or Al. Follow this moon beam, and I shall lead you to where she is currently residing_.

Sure enough a bright ray of light cascaded from the sky and onto the floor, landing right next to Bunnymund's large, furry paws. It moved back and forth, as if it was asking them silently to follow it.

The older guardians looked at each other, and came to a silent conclusion. After this oncoming war is over, they would make sure to connect with all spirits. Each guardian would take time to make each spirit understand that they were acknowledged. Accepted. Loved. No Spirit, ever, should be ignored!

"All right every-von to zee sleigh" North said in a heavy accent. No one shouted out about the decision, not even Bunnymund, who often became queasy at the thought of sleigh rides. They were all too busy wondering about just how powerful their enemies have become. They all swiftly walked towards the room where the sleigh and reindeer were kept.

After ten minutes, everyone was in their designated spots in the vehicle. Jack sitting at the highest point possible, north at the reins, Tooth and Sandy sitting quietly on the available bench, and Bunnymund, sitting below Jack, and clutching to the railing as if his life depended on it. North's sleigh, pulled by flying reindeer, took to the sky. It quickly made its way through the night, following a stray moon beam.

**l_l**

Quickly, and soundlessly they made their way across the sky, until the came to a clearing in a forest in the northern most part of California. It the densely wooded forest, there was meadow, a few acres big. As the moon sank below the horizon, and the sun rose above the tree tops, they saw a large concrete building, two or three stories tall. It wasn't very large, but it seemed out of place.

There were windows, but those on the second and third stories were dark, but on the first story, there were heavy dark brown drapes, which were tightly drawn. It was a tall building, but it was shorter than the nearby tree. As they drew nearer, they realized that the building was painted like the surrounding forest.

The guardians reached the door, and North was about to knock on the door when Jack stepped in front of him. "When you knock, stand back, we don't want to overwhelm her. We don't know what actions the spirit will take, if she thinks we are an enemy." Jack stated.

"Why would she think that we are an enemy?" Tooth asked.

"Well, considering none of us recognized her, she might me a new spirit," the winter spirit hypothesized, "and as a new spirit, she might not know what we know about our part of reality. When I first became Jack Frost, I didn't know much." Hearing this, the four original guardians felt extremely guilty. North let out a sigh, and knocked on the large wooden door and stood back, leaving Jack in front.

A spirit opened the door with a large creak, and stared at the Jack. Then she looked over to the other guardians. Her eyes grew wide and then she slammed the door in Jacks face before he could get out a hello. He shook his head, as if he expected this to happen, and looked at the other guardians. North and Bunnymund just shrugged, and Sandy mimed knocking on the door again while Tooth nodded.

Sighing as he turned around Jack raised his hand to knock on the door. Before he could bring his hand down to knock on the door, it was wrenched open again and the door groaned in protest.

"S-sorry I-" the spirit that opened door said, but suddenly stopped and flinched back when she saw Jacks fist raised. It made the guardian of fun look as if he was about to attack, which was very ironic, considering that they wanted her on their team.

"Oh," Jack said, as he blushed ever so slightly, "sorry."

"It's fine," the spirit answered, "Look I'm sorry I-I slammed the-the door in you g-guy's faces, it's just- I'm n-not used to com-company."

When the older guardians got a better look at the spirit that opened the door, they questioned Manny's decision. The spirit was obviously a girl. She had long, dark, brown hair, which was dyed with several red and blue streaks and tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes were a wide array of colors, which were ever changing, like a kaleidoscope. She was dressed in an oversized, button down, white shirt, which was rolled up to her elbows and covered in paint splotches. She wore ripped, blue jeans in the same condition as her shirt, and a pair of white high top Converse, which was covered in amazing drawings she drew herself with a black Sharpie. There was an orange streak of paint just below her left eye, and smudges of paint covering both of her hands. Her posture screamed of discomfort, constantly wringing her hands and shifting her eyes from guardian to guardian, as if waiting for an attack.

Jack just saw her as an ordinary teenager, who enjoyed art, and didn't trust strangers. And boy was this group strange. Their group consisted of an oversized, tattooed, bunny, an equally tattooed Russian Santa, a mute man made out of golden sand, a fairy who was overly obsessed with teeth, and a white haired teenager who controlled winter. If anything she should fit right in with this strange group.

"So, Jack, do y-you and the guardians w-want to come in?" she asked with a small stuttter.

"How- How'd you know my name?" the winter spirit asked.

"Please, when y-you were elected as a guardian by the-the m-moon, there was some uproar about it-t. All spirits who have existed within the l-l-last f-five years, know who you are," she retorted. "So, you commin' in or n-not?" She asked and gestured towards the large, creaky, wooden door.

Jack just shrugged and walked in and the others soon followed. "Oh I'm Allison, by the way, Al for short," Al said, as she gave the guardians a silent tour of the first story of her current residence. The first floor was largely empty with a curved stair case in the middle, a room, probably a bathroom, in the far right corner, and a small like kitchen area in the left corner closest to the door. They were awestruck by the paintings that lined the walls and the sculptures that were scattered throughout the area.

"Did you- Did you make these?" the Easter bunny asked in pure awe. Her painting and sculptures were amazing. They were so full of life and so realistic.

"Oh those, their j-just a sm-small hobby I t-took up a little while ago. Nothing special," she said, tough nobody noticed her small stutter.

The others knew that that was a lie. One that caught North's eye was the painting that covered the entire ceiling, a perfect painting of the night sky and all of its constellations, and the northern lights were shining all around, framing it. He was awestruck by the precise placement of the stars and the attention to detail she had to have in order to paint the northern lights so flawlessly. The painting was so amazing it created a false night, so real; it looked more realistic than the original.

Jack was found staring at a painting of a family huddled around a fire, using a large brown jacket to shield themselves from the cold. The family reminded him of his past, because the family consisted of a mom, a dad, a brother, and a sister, much like his own. It started bring tears to his eyes

Sandy was amazed by the sculptures, made from varying materials. There were some made from wood, while others were made of clay and still others were made from wood. Each sculpture was much more realistic than his own woven from golden sand.

Tooth fluttered, around eyes darting from paining to panting, and sculpture to sculpture. She was amazed by the artistic talent that the spirit held. She had never been one to appreciate art, but these astonishing paintings and remarkable sculptures were changing that.

Bunnymund, an experienced artist stared at one of her more abstract paintings. The swirls of yellow and orange together took a lot of talent to create. He did not understand how such a young looking spirit could be so experienced in art. A question; _how long was she alone; _arose again in the guardian of hope's mind again.

"Nothing special, my left foot! How did you make the browns in this picture?" the Easter Bunny asked, pointing to the picture Jack was looking at. It really only consisted of different shades of reds, browns, whites, and a few spots of greens, but the varying shades made it seem like a rainbow of colors.

"Oh, for the-uh-lighter browns I used a m-mix of red, orange, and dif-fferent amounts of black, and for the darker brown I-uh-I just added m-more black," Al answered with a slight stutter.

"So, no off-offence, but, why-why are y-y-you here?" she asked, after a small pause, causing everyone to turn around and look at her. "I mean if-if this is about th-th-that big earthquake and tsunami th-that happened in J-Japan, I'm s-sorry, but it's kind of my-my job, and it wasn't entirely my fa-fault. I got in a small fight with…" the spirit started to babble, and stutter on, but she was soon interrupted.

"No, no, no nothing like that. Wait what, you caused- you know never mind, I don't want to know," North said in a thick accent, "We are here because the moon led us here."

Al's eyes widened "Wait so you mean- You're- You're telling me that- that- that the- the moon wants _me_ to be a guardian?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Al's eyes widened "Wait so you mean- You're- You're telling me that- that- that the- the moon wants me to be a guardian?" _

Jack smiled a snow white smile, at the spirit's reaction because he knew that sense of disbelief. When he was chosen, he thought that they were making some kind of trick, like the kind he would pull. He thought that there were so many other choices for a guardian. So many _better_ choices. Jack knew her disbelief because he had felt it too.

"Well, yeah," Jack answered, with a pristine white smirk, "The moon kinda knows what he's talking about."

"I-it's just, I'm not r-really the-the best ch-choice" Al stuttered through. None of the others showed that they notice her speech impediment, and Al was thankful for that. She didn't stutter before, but now, with other spirits around, her chances of speaking normally were shot. She hadn't spoken to others in so long, and she didn't really have any reason to talk to herself, not often anyway.

"Well, the moon seems to think you are, so… yeah" Jack said.

"You know, I-I like y-you. A-and the w-winds s-s-seem to l-like you t-too" Al said as she pointed her finger at Jack. '_Man, I keep on stuttering. Why can't I stop stuttering?' _She mentally screamed at herself. It was so obvious and she hated it so much. She praised the other for not making a big show about it.

Jack laughed at her statement little, earning a small rare smile from Al. She didn't smile. When you were alone for as long as she was, you did not have any reason to. She did not have any reason to smile, not often anyways.

Al looked down at her clothes, and noticed that she was still in her art clothes. She seemed disgusted by her clothes, but she was more disgusted at her lack of manners and chivalry towards the guardians. She saw her clothes as a chance to get away from all the people and compose herself. She needed to be stronger; she could not show weakness in front of others. She was trained and built that way. She could not show weakness, not her.

She looked up from her clothes and pointed behind her. "I'm g-going to g-get ch-ch-changed," she said. Al walk walked towards the small room in the far left corner, opened the creaky door, and walked in, leaving the current guardians alone in her home. It showed a lot of trust, Jack noticed, trust in total strangers.

Al walked into the bathroom. She didn't really need to take five long minutes to get dressed. No! She could get changed by simply using her powers to morph her clothes into whatever she wanted. Changing only took a matter of seconds.

Al only walked into the bathroom to contain her emotions and faint sense of nausea. She placed both hands on the sink and stared at the mirror intently. She hated feeling so weak and helpless, especially in front of others. Though it was only a stutter, it was a major weakness. To Al it was, anyway. She could not show weakness in front of other. Not the people in her current house or to the voices in side her head.

Yeah, that's right. The voices.

Every so often the voices echoed inside her skull, haunting her. They were not always there, but they had found a place to stay inside her mind, slowly driving her to insanity. They should up more often after the incident in Japan happened too. When she was questioning herself and the others inside her current home, they found a reason to speak up once more.

'_You know they'll never trust you,' _they echoed inside her head, as she clutched her ears and grasped her hair, in annoyance. When the voices came they brought headaches with them. They were not usually bad, or noticeable, but this one was strong enough to cause her to lean heavily on the sink. She would not sit down, no matter how much her legs wanted to give out. Al would not give the voices that satisfaction

'_Shut up' _she said quietly, inside her head, to the voices.

'_If you tell them about us, they'll think you're mentally unstable. Too unstable to be part of their team,' _they continued, not hearing Al.

'_Go away'_ she thought a little louder and a little firmer. Still the voice did not stop.

'_Even if you don't tell them about us, they'll think of you as too unreliable. Too unpredictable. After all you did cause all that damage in Japan.'_

'_Stop it,' _she said in her head as two tears slid down her face, chasing each other down her left cheek. She quickly wiped them away. Crying was a sign of weakness, and she would not be weak.

'_You are too weak to join them. You can't say two words without stuttering. No wonder you are alone. Your weakness is disgusting,' _they continued.

That drew the line. Al prided herself on not being weak. It was all she had left. So when the voice said she was weak, something inside her snapped.

'_I hate you! Go away!'_ she screamed inside her head. She bit back the tears that were threatening to poor down her face. Tears were weakness, and she would show the voice any signs of weakness. She would not give the voices that satisfaction. If she gave the voices that satisfaction, it would mean that the voices would have won. She could not let the voices win, she never let anyone win. Losing was a weakness, and Al could not show weakness.

After a few seconds, when she knew for sure that the voices would not return, Al changed her clothes and began to compose herself. She took a few shaky breaths, looked down at the clothes, and started to tug at the hem of her shirt. It was just a simple white t-shirt with words, in Greek, on it. The shirt said _Enjoy the music_. It was her favorite shirt.

When she stopped making choked sobbing noises, Al sat down and untied her shoes. Then she took them off, and she slowly took off her socks too. She realized she was stalling, so she wouldn't have to go out and face the people in her house.

Al sighed and stood up. She then turned and stared at the door, and took a deep breath. She reached for the door knob with a shaky hand, and slowly twisted. She pushed the door gently and the bathroom door opened slowly with a large creek. Al walked out with a fake smile plastered on her face.

While Al was in the bathroom presumably changing the others will still marveling at her beautiful paintings and marvelous sculptures. It was baffling on how such a young looking spirit could hold so much artistic potential. Though, age was deceiving in a spirit's perspective. After all, Jack was over three hundred years old, and he still looked and acted like a teenaged boy. These thoughts brought up the same question they've been thinking since the man in the moon chose her as a guardian.

How long have they ignored her?

When Al walked out of the bathroom with a fake smile plastered on her face, the guardians saw nothing wrong with her. They could not tell that she was crying bathroom. They could not tell that there were voices in her head, tormenting her. They could not tell how broken she was. Come to think of it, they did not even notice her walk out of the small room in the back corner.

She walked silently behind Bunnymund and Jack, who were too absorbed in a painting to notice her. The large bunny and pale boy were admiring a piece painted directly on the concrete wall. It was a painting of a girl, with long black hair, and kaleidoscope eyes staring up at the night sky. She wore a blank expression on her face, and her hands clasped above her stomach, which was mostly covered by long, dry grass. The moon shone in an array of yellows and whites. Its moon beams cascaded down, enveloping her in an embrace, not that the girl seemed to notice. She stared into the sky, with an almost dead expression on her face.

"That my favorite," Al said, making sure she did not stutter. Stuttering was a weakness, in her eyes, and she would not give the voices that satisfaction. When Al said that Bunnymund jumped a little; no one has ever been able to sneak up on him.

"What?" he asked, still a little jumpy from Al's sneakiness.

"That painting you're looking at, it's my favorite," she stated.

"Does anyone want tea?" She asked, happy with herself because she did not stutter. The others turned to face her. "I'm making some tea to calm my nerves, do you guys want any?"

Everyone shook their head no, everyone except Jack. Jack just simply shrugged and asked, "What kinda tea?"

"Uh, I dunno. You wanna come up stairs and check with me?" she asked as she walked towards the stairs in the middle of the room.

"Sure," the winter spirit said as he followed her up the stairs. The guardians looked at each other and asked with their eyes if they should go with them. Sandy decided for them as he floated up the stairs. The others went up after.

When they got up there they saw a very funny sight. Jack was on the floor, a little dazed, and covered in various boxes and bags of food, while Al was dangling from a pipe running across the top the ceiling. Obviously the shelf holding all of Al's food supplies, toppled after they tried to reach something at the very top. They came up with that conclusion because the shelving unit in question was teetering, only held up by a small rope, and was threatening to fall on Jack.

Sandy and Bunnymund chuckled a bit, while North tried to reach Al and Tooth helped Jack up. Jack was fine, but Tooth had to check every molar to make sure. Al, however, was not out of her predicament just yet. The ceiling was too tall for even the large Russian to reach, so Al was left dangling.

"Hold on, let me go get a ladder, dah," North exclaimed.

"There's no time, she going to fall!" Jack said, because he knew there was no time for him to grab a ladder. He went to go grab his staff, but before he even got to his staff, Al did something unexpected. She started to swing. Swing back and forth, back and forth, until she was satisfied with her momentum. Once got enough height she let go. She sailed forward, did a flip, and she landed on the floor doing a small summersault, so she would not break anything.

Everyone was amazed with her gymnastic skills. She was amazingly graceful doing that, and she landed without a scratch. They all wondered what other talents she held.

"Show off," Jack mumbled. Jack looked down at his feet, and picked up a box not far away. He made a show of picking it up and raising it above his head. "I have found the tea!" the winter spirit exclaimed. Then he tossed it towards Al.

She giggled when she caught it. "Thank you my brave companion, but this is a box of bandages. And I think you need them more I do," She answered as she tossed them back to Jack. When she tossed them, Tooth caught sight of something on her right arm.

"What- what is that?" Tooth asked Al, who immediately stopped smiling immediately.

"What is what?" Al asked, hoping Tooth didn't see what Al thought she saw. Man she wished she wore a different shirt. It wasn't her favorite shirt anymore.

"The- the thing on your arm," Tooth answered. Darn it. It was what Al feared the guardian saw.

"Oh this, it's just a tattoo I got from before I was a spirit," Al said, hoping they wouldn't ask more questions. The tattoo was burned into her skin. It consisted of ancient Greek letters, and five small lines below the letters.

"I looks burned onto your skin, mate," Bunnymund stated. Sandy then made some symbols above his head, but they went by too fast for Al to comprehend.

"What?" Al asked the sandman.

"He asked 'when were you made a spirit?'" Tooth translated, as Sandy nodded.

Al was dreading this question. Jack, sensing her unease, attempted to change the topic. He was the guardian of fun, and he noticed that Al was not having fun with this conversation.

"How about that tea?" Jack asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah, I could use some tea," Al answered, desperately wanting a way out of the conversation about her past. However, the older guardians did not give up that easily.

"Al, we won't leave, we just want to know when you became a spirit," Tooth said in a kind voice.

"Besides, mate, it can't be much worse than Jack," Bunnymund stated guiltily. At least that's what he thought.

'_You want to bet'_ Al thought, but admitted defeat. She could not shake the guardians, and didn't want to argue. This defeat, however, was weakness, and that was a satisfaction she had to allow the voices to have.

She then mumbled something that even Bunnymund's supersonic hearing could pick up.

"What? I couldn't hear you," Tooth said "We won't judge, I promise."

"I became a spirit in the ancient Greek era, ok! That was about two-thousand-seven-hundred years ago," Al yelled a little louder than she wanted to. "Was I loud enough that time?" she whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"_I became a spirit in the ancient Greek era, ok! That was about two-thousand-seven-hundred years ago," Al yelled a little louder than she wanted to. "Was I loud enough that time?" she whispered._

Two-thousand seven-hundred years.

That's how long ago Al was made into a spirit. Two-thousand seven-hundred years. That's how long Al has been alone.

Two-thousand Seven-hundred years.

Has she done anything to seek out attention? Has she interacted with anyone? Has she wanted attention? Has she wanted to interact with others?

None of them knew the answered to those questions. None of them could even ask those questions. Al's answer to their original question left them at a loss for words.

Two-thousand seven-hundred years.

That was before the any guardians became a spirit, themselves. The older guardians were made into a spirit in the dark ages, and a guardian not long after. The dark ages were about one-thousand six-hundred years ago. That was not two-thousand seven-hundred years. And Jack, he was only three-hundred years old, a baby by spirit standards. Three-hundred paled in comparison to two-thousand seven-hundred years. Three hundred years seemed like almost nothing when compared to that of Al's.

"Look, I d-don't want your sympathy," Al said blatantly. After a long pause, she rubbed her temple with two fingers on either side of her head, and exclaimed, "I need some tea." She then looked at her feet, saw a box of chamomile tea, picked it up and walked down stairs to her small kitchen.

The others watched her disappear down the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight and down stairs, Tooth broke down sobbing. She was so ashamed and upset with herself for not talking to Al sooner. The other just sat in guilty silence.

Everyone except Jack. Jack followed Al down stairs, wanting some tea. Jack was the only one out of them to know what it was like to be alone. To be ignored. …Forgotten.

Tooth composed herself after a few minutes of silent sobbing, "Why?" She asked in barley a whisper, "Why was she alone for so long? Why couldn't we have done something?"

"I don't know, Tooth. I don't know," North said, placing a large hand, on the petite fairy's shoulder.

Bunnymund cleared his throat, causing all the remaining guardians to look at him. "Should we go down there?" he asked.

"I don't know. How can we face her now?" Tooth asked. That question has been plaguing her mind ever since Al disappeared down the stairs only a few moments ago.

"We're going to 'ave to find out by going down there," North stated in a thick Russian accent, and the others nodded. He looked at the stairs and sighed following the Easter Bunny down to the first floor.

When they stepped of the last step and onto the concrete floor, they saw Jack cringing as Al held her left hand below a tea pot that she held aloft with her right hand. At first, the guardians found it strange that Al was holding the pot like that, but as they got closer they realized why Jack was cringing. Just above her left hand, there was blue and orange tinted flames dancing, boiling water in the small kettle.

'_What other powers does she have?' _the guardians pondered to themselves, not allowed to the others, but inside their head's

'_What else is she hiding?'_

The guardians walked over to the small bar like island thatisland that Al and jack were standing near. When they got within earshot, the guardians got to hear the end of Al and Jack's conversation.

"Why does tea have to be hot?" Jack asked, like a whiny two year old. He stared at her with puppy dog eyes and begged, "Do you have to boil the water?"

"Yes," Al said through gritted teeth. The fire summoning obviously was taking a toll on her, but she would not let it show. Al was not weak, and she would make sure the voices knew that. "That's kinda how tea works," she continued, with a hitch in her voice.

"But hot, and winter spirits, don't mix," Jack stated. After he said that, the kettle started to whistle. Al lifted the lid, and looked inside. She looked up with a small satisfied smile. Al extinguished the flame in her left hand, and set down the kettle on the counter.

"You want some tea too?" Al asked the guardians that just arrived at the counter. She then looked up from the tea kettle and gave a fake smile to them. Al did not want the guardians to feel guilty because she was alone. It wasn't their fault. She couldn't blame them. Blame meant not taking responsibility for her own actions, and that was a form of weakness. She would not let the voices have that satisfaction.

North accepted the tea, as well as Tooth and Bunnymund, but Sandy declined. Al went to a cupboard and pulled out five cups, because she assumed Jack still wanted tea, and placed them on the counter next to the teapot. She poured the hot water into each of them, and picked up the box she left a few feet away. Al then pulled on the tabs to open the box, and pulled out five bags. She opened each bag, and placed them in each individual cup. Al then handed a cup to North, then Bunnymund, then Tooth, then lastly Jack, who just looked at the cup with distaste and hatred. He blasted the tea with a shot of artic air, until he was satisfied with the temperature. Then he started sipping on the tea.

Al then looked from face to face of each of the guardians. Then she spoke up. "Why did the moon choose _me_ as a guardian?" Al asked.

After North took a long gulp of the tea, he said "Oh Zat, vell, Pitch, zee boogie man izz back."

"I figured that much, but you guys beat him last he that little creeper came around. Why do you need me?" Al asked.

"We think, Pitch has a new ally," Jack said in a rare, but serious tone.

"Who is it?"

"No one really, the moon is probably wrong…" Jack said, but he was soon interrupted by Al.

"WHO is it?" she asked firmer. She was persistent, and she was not going to leave without an answer.

"It's- it's father time," Jack sighed. When Al heard this she made a chocking sound as she gulped down the rest of the tea. She dropped the tea cup she was holding, and it shattered against the smooth concrete ground. She winced, and stood up. She willed the earth to absorbed the shards of china, and looked up at the guardians with a distressed look on her face.

"We need to go. NOW!" she exclaimed

"Wha- Why?" Jack voiced what all the other guardians were thinking. Al obviously did not hear him, and paced the room.

"Oh this is bad. This is very very bad," Al muttered to herself, as she picked up a white backpack, covered with sharpie drawings. She could not believe _he _partnered with Pitch. She knew he was bad, and not to be trusted, but how evil could he be?

"How do know father time?" Tooth asked. All the guardians were confused. None of them met him before, but obviously Al had. Al knew Father Time. That was another secret that the guardians did not know about her. What else was she hiding?

"Al, how do you know father time?" the tooth fairy asked, and this time the spirit heard. She looked at Tooth with her kaleidoscope eyes, and knew that she was going to regret asking that question

"He was my best friend, when I was alive," Al said, "But know what I knew is gone."


End file.
